Coursera pilots a new course format

Starting today, we will begin piloting a few courses in which all content is available only to learners who have purchased the course, either directly or by applying for and receiving financial aid.

We believe that having this new format as an option on our platform will allow our partners to offer more of their courses and programs on Coursera, where millions of learners can access them. For example, we have heard from partners who are interested in using this format to offer courses that include copyrighted material for which the partner must pay a per-user licensing fee, or that rely on group work that requires a high level of commitment from all learners for the duration of the course.

As with all of our pilots, we’ll be carefully monitoring how these courses perform relative to key metrics like enrollments, engagement, completion, and learner satisfaction. Based on the results, we will decide, together with our partners, whether to offer this format as an option for additional courses in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about this pilot, please read through the detailed FAQs below. As we continue to diversify the content and course formats that we offer, we hope each of you will continue to discover new and exciting opportunities to pursue your goals on Coursera.

If you are interested in taking one of the courses in this pilot, but you cannot afford the course fee, we encourage you to apply for Financial Aid. You can learn more about how to apply for Financial Aid in our Learner Help Center (https://learner.coursera.help/hc/en-us/articles/209819033).

What if I only want to watch the videos?

For the courses in this pilot, all content, including videos, will be accessible only to learners who have paid the course fee or received financial aid. You will be able to preview the first video before purchasing the course.